1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lighted electrical connector housing.
2. The Prior Art
In manufacturing appliances, connections are frequently made in an electrical panel. Power is supplied from power couplings that may be installed through the back of the electrical panel. The electrical components have supply couplings that plug into the power couplings. It can be difficult to distinguish one power coupling from another and to confirm if a proper connection has been made.
In the past several different component configurations have been proposed for lighted housings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,398 has a resistor, diode and circuit boards coupled to plug blades for powering a light source. The components are disposed within an adapter that fits between a plug and socket. The components are exposed to the environment and the adapter takes space and represents additional cost. U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,594 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,707 provide various configurations for providing lighting to a household extension cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,968 provides indicators housed within a generator adaptor that plus into a residential electric meter mount. U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,317 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,152 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,037 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,051 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,529 propose an indicator installed within an RJ-type connector during the manufacturing process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,859 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,690 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,807 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,409 have lights that are sealed within an overmold housing during the manufacturing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,906 has a laser emitting a beam of light that is transmitted to an exterior portion of an ethernet jack. U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,006 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,284 and U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0042735 have an LED that is installed within a USB connector during the manufacturing process. U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,787 has LEDs mounted on a circuit board. U.S. Published Patent Application 2001/0039140 provides an independent light module mounted on a module housing and having a connection to a circuit board.
The prior art proposes lighting options that are added on to the exterior of connectors thereby changing its configuration or are incorporated within connectors during the manufacturing process. The prior art does not show or suggest a lighting assembly that can be field installed on a manufactured connector without interfering with the connector's mounting on an electrical panel. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a lighting assembly to code connectors and provide an indicator that confirms the connection integrity.